Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie hopes for seeing her family this Christmas, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the main festive feast.
In her case, the holidays can be a especially challenging season as the noises of people eating, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger intense distress.
"I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just freeze and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these noises."
The individual has lived with this condition from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those made by those around you.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts reported nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Frequently it's noises connected to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a university student, who has experienced misophonia for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to minimize triggering sounds.
She explains her misophonia is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"People assume you to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Cope
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Attempt to link the triggering sound bothering you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
